Mexican Picadillo is a comforting ground beef dish cooked with potatoes, a homemade tomato sauce, and chile pasado. This picadillo estilo Durango is my family’s version, made with the traditional flavors of northern Mexico. Serve it with Arroz Mexicano and warm corn tortillas for a delicious weeknight meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe ❤️
- A family recipe from Durango: This is how my family makes picadillo, with flavors inspired by northern Mexico.
- Full of flavor: Ground beef, potatoes, homemade tomato sauce, and chile pasado make every bite delicious.
- Easy enough for weeknights: Simple ingredients come together in one skillet for a satisfying meal.
- Easy to customize: Adjust the heat, add your favorite vegetables, or make the picadillo juicier with a little beef broth.
-Maggie
🥩 Ingredients
- Lean Ground Beef – Swap out for ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork.
- Chile Pasado – Can’t find it? Use roasted poblano peppers.
- Potato – Dice the potato into small pieces so it can cook faster.
- Olive Oil – Use another neutral cooking oil if preferred.
- Tomatoes and jalapeño are blended into a simple sauce that brings the picadillo together.
- Water – Please see recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Onion and garlic add great flavor to this (and just about any) dish.
- Salt can be substituted with chicken bouillon or beef bouillon.
- Black Pepper adds a subtle sharpness.
- Cumin and Mexican oregano are both earthy and deep spices.
Here, I’m calling this recipe “Picadillo estilo Durango.”
However, some people in the Northern states might refer to it as “Picadillo Ranchero” or “Picadillo Norteño.”
A great way to make this a more complete meal is to add veggies like green beans or carrots. Or add frozen peas at the end of the cooking. Adjust this basic recipe to make it your own.
Instructions
🌶️ How to Rehydrate Chile Pasado
- Pour hot water over the chile pasado and let sit for 20 minutes. OR, boil in hot water and let stand for 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the stems and seeds. Chop into small pieces.
Chile pasado is not a type of chile. It’s a type of drying method commonly used in Durango and Chihuahua.
Typically, we use poblano peppers and chilacas to make chile pasado. If you can’t find chile pasado, use 2 roasted poblano peppers, diced.
🥫 How to Make the Tomato Sauce
- Boil two fresh tomatoes and a jalapeño over medium heat.
- Blend until smooth.
Remove the skins and the stem on the jalapeno before blending.
This recipe is not too spicy. But if you like it spicier, use more jalapeño peppers or serrano pepper in the tomato sauce or rehydrate more chile pasado. Or if you can’t handle spice at all, substitute the chiles with green bell pepper.
👩🏼🍳 Cooking Beef
- Heat the oil in a large skillet.
- Cook ground meat until brown on medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Let the ground beef brown before proceeding to the next step.
Fun fact: Some countries in Latin America make empanadas with this dish.
- Cut the potato into small, evenly sized pieces.
- Add diced potatoes to the beef mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rehydrated chile pasado and tomato sauce.
- Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low heat, or until potatoes have a fork tender texture.
These are only about 1-inch squared potatoes and don’t take a long time to cook. The smaller the potatoes, the faster they cook.
It might look juicy here, but it cooks down after 10 minutes.
For a juicier beef picadillo, add 1 cup of beef broth with the tomato sauce. For an even thicker consistency, add a tablespoon of tomato paste.
🙋🏻♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Mexican picadillo is commonly made with ground beef, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and seasonings. This Durango-style version also uses chile pasado, which adds a distinctive flavor.
The name picadillo is related to the Spanish verb picar, meaning to chop or mince. Picadillo has many regional variations throughout Spain and Latin America, with ingredients and preparation methods that differ from place to place.
Let the picadillo cool slightly, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, although the potatoes may soften or change texture after thawing.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot, stirring as needed. You can also warm it in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add a splash of water or beef broth if the mixture seems dry. Thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
🍴 Sides
This Mexican Picadillo, made the way my family enjoys it in Durango, is a comforting meal full of ground beef, tender potatoes, and chile pasado. Serve it with Mexican rice, beans, and warm corn tortillas, or use it as a filling for tacos. ¡Buen provecho!
Mexican Picadillo (Picadillo Estilo Durango)
Ingredients
To Rehydrate Chile Pasado:
- 3 chile pasado (use 5 if you like it spicy)
- 2 cups water (to rehydrate chile)
To Make the Tomato Sauce:
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 jalapeño
- 2 cups water (to cook tomatoes + jalapenos)
- 1 cup water (to blend)
To Make the Picadillo:
- 2 tbsps oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- ¼ onion diced
- 1 potato diced into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
To Rehydrate Chile Pasado:
- Pour 2 cups of hot water over the chile pasado in a heat proof container.
- Let sit for 20 minutes, OR boil for 5 minutes.
- Discard the water. Let the chiles cool.
- Cut off stems, cut lengthwise, and remove seeds.
- Chop into small pieces
- Set aside until ready to use.
To Make the Tomato Sauce:
- Place tomatoes and jalapeno in a stock pot.
- Cover with 2 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
- Let cool slightly.
- Discard cooking water.
- Place tomatoes, jalapeño, and 1 cup of fresh water in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
To Make the Picadillo:
- Heat oil in a large skillet.
- Add ground beef.
- With your spatula, break down the beef as it cooks.
- Once it’s brown, add the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano.
- Mix everything together.
- Cut the potato into small, evenly sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes to the skillet.
- Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce and chile pasado.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover and lower heat to medium-low.
- Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- If you like it juicier, add 1 cup of beef broth.
Video
Notes
- Serve on a plate and reheat in a microwave for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
- Reheat in a large pan for 5 minutes on medium high heat. You might need to add some beef broth depending on the amount that’s being reheated.
- If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then reheat in a pot with 1 cup of beef broth for 5-7 minutes.
Your post made me feel a little bit of wanderlust, I was in Mexico this year and I miss it very much being there. Thank you for you recipe maybe when I will try it I will bring some Mexico vibes to my home <3
I know what you mean. We travel a lot. Luckily, there are foods like this Mexican Picadillo that we can make and take us back to places far, far away…
The recipe sounds super delicious! I would really love to it too. So tempting. It contains so many of my favorites. Mexican food sure is good
I couldn’t agree more. Mexican picadillo is such a classic too.
Wow, I love this recipe it is so delicious and look so easy to prepare. I will def try to make this for the whole family.
That’s great. Mexican picadillo comes together quickly. Perfect for weeknights.
Saving this so I can make it. It looks so delicious. I hope mine looks as good as yours!
Awesome! You’ll love this Mexican picadillo.
Wow! I’ve never heard of this kind of recipe before but it looks absolutely mouthwatering! My partner and I usually have a “Mexican” Friday food night – definitely trying this next!
So cool! I love theme night dinners. Hope you get a chance to try out Mexican picadillo one of those nights. 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever tried picadillo but it looks so good! And it doesn’t seem to hard to make! I will definitely try this!
It’s not hard to make Mexican Picadillo at all. That’s why it’s perfect for weeknight meals or when you need something quick to get on the table. Hope you give this recipe a try.
I am 100% craving beef right now so this recipe is totally hitting the spot for me right now!
My husband is a big beef eater. He loves picadillo!
I was looking for awesome new recipes to make for dinner tonight and this looks so yum! I can’t wait to try it!
Great! Hope you enjoy it!!
I’ve made this recipe SEVERAL times already and the kids and I LOVE it! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes and funny stories and corny jokes ?
Awww.. that makes me so happy! Thank you.
Seniora, Madam,
You are simply wonderful in every way… Love is given to so many of us..
you are so lucky… You have the Julia Child’s gift but so much more… You must consider writing your novel, your screenplay, your phone’s, and if you do not paint you must begin. God bless you. It is not a small thing to give so much of yourself so selflessly is is the Christ Way the Buddha way the way of the Dow and the TAO… BLESSINGS FROM AMY AND DAVID!